Chapter 363 - 337: Death in the Fortress (2)

Chapter 363: Chapter 337: Death in the Fortress (2)

After gleaning some information from the townsfolk’s conversations, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi spent some Sublimation Coins to rent a room in the small town.

As with every previous investigation, Guan Tong believed in sending out his vanguard before the main force. In this case, his vanguard was naturally his Shadow.

Following the intelligence he’d gathered, he directed his Shadow toward the prison, and it quickly reached its destination.

To his surprise, the view shared by his Shadow was less of a prison and more of a fortress. The sturdy, high walls and mounted large-caliber machine cannons didn’t seem designed to keep prisoners in, but rather to defend against an external threat.

’It looks like this prison used to be a fortress, built for war...’

Such a seemingly impregnable fortress was utterly vulnerable to his Shadow’s infiltration.

The Shadow slipped inside with ease, then split into several Shadow Lines that began to drift off in different directions to scout the interior.

According to the intel, Rijeka had been sent to this prison, but the specifics of his cell number weren’t included.

The Shadow searched cell by cell, moving quickly, as the vast majority of them were empty. Guan Tong noticed, however, that some of the cells showed signs of recent occupation.

Then, the Shadow made a key discovery.

On the floor containing the guards’ quarters, it found his target: Rijeka Konia.

In the image relayed by the Shadow, Rijeka was talking to a man in a prison guard’s uniform.

Judging by Rijeka’s clean, splendid clothes and his neatly pomaded golden hair, he clearly wasn’t being treated like a common prisoner.

Guan Tong didn’t act rashly. He had his Shadow hide in the room’s dark corners to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Rijeka seemed to be in a foul mood, an impatient look on his face.

The prison official across from him wore a fawning smile, his tone obsequious. "I know you’re anxious, but for now, you just have to bear with it."

"Bear with it?" Rijeka suppressed his rage. "Bear with it until Yelena completely secures her position as Governor? Until she gets rid of everyone who sided with me?!"

"She may be ruthless, but she’s not omniscient. For example, she’s clueless about my relationship with you, isn’t she? After all, I’m the warden here. Otherwise, she never would’ve sent you here."

"Hmph... That’s true." Rijeka’s expression softened slightly upon hearing this. He sneered, "She must have thought she’d make me suffer by locking me in this miserable prison. Instead, she just shot herself in the foot."

Guan Tong listened, thinking, ’So the warden must be one of Rijeka’s secret cronies.’

’But Yelena is completely unaware of this?’

Guan Tong found that strange. He considered Yelena to be very clever, despite her youth.

’Moreover, if a single guard were to leak that Rijeka is living in luxury here, it would be a huge problem. Unless this warden has bribed and now controls every guard.’

"Exactly. So you don’t need to be anxious. What’s more, you’re holding evidence of her crimes..."

’Evidence of her crimes?’

Guan Tong listened intently.

Rijeka’s lips curled into a smirk. "That’s right. She’s been having Sikokun secretly transfer death-row and other high-level criminals out of the prisons. They must be food for that alien monster. If the people of Sisiya were to find out, I’d love to see what she’d do!"

’...So that’s the "evidence."’

Hearing Rijeka’s words, Guan Tong immediately understood why almost all the cells were empty.

Many of the inmates in Sennantata’s prisons were dangerous criminals and death-row convicts. After the intelligent alien being landed on the ice field, it required food in exchange for answering questions... The best food was undoubtedly Parasites, but what if the existing supply of Parasites ran out?

Or, if some critical situation were to arise on-site, these criminals taken from the prisons would serve as an extra layer of insurance.

’This practice...’ Guan Tong wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong.

But he felt it would be nearly impossible for Rijeka to take down Yelena by publicizing this.

"To be safe, I think you should prepare for another course of action."

"Another course of action? What do you mean?"

The warden said, "For example, the next time Sikokun comes to collect people, we could move to detain her."

"Detain Sikokun?" Rijeka frowned and shook his head. "Impossible. She’s Yelena’s most powerful Ascender. How many people do you have in this prison? You think you can hold her?"

The warden said, "You may not know this, sir. This place was originally a fortress built for war. Though it was later converted into a prison, many of the heavy-firepower defensive weapons were never dismantled. I’ve been the warden here for so many years, I figured out how to activate them long ago."

Rijeka’s interest was piqued. He stared at the warden and asked, "You’re willing to take this risk with me? Why?"

The warden said, "To be honest, if you succeed, I think I’ll be able to leave this place. I’ve really had enough of this Icefield Prison."

Rijeka stood up and clapped the warden on the shoulder. "Good! I promise you, if this works, once I take back the Governor’s seat, I will absolutely... What’s wrong with you?"

He hadn’t even finished his promise of wealth and status when he saw the expression on the warden’s face shift from excitement to terror.

"Watch out! Behind you—!"

’Behind me?!’

Before Rijeka could turn, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his back, right where his heart was.

"Urk!"

He looked down and saw the tip of a blade protruding from his chest.

Someone had run him through from behind.

’How is this possible?!’

Amid a surge of terror and adrenaline, Rijeka even forgot the pain as his mind raced.

’There’s a solid wall behind me, no doors or windows! How could someone stab me? Who is it?!’

’My automatic defense item? Why didn’t it work?!’

"This is a man-made blade. It’s only natural that your Psychic Power defense item wouldn’t work against it."

The voice from behind him answered the question in his mind. A jolt shot through Rijeka as pain and weakness rapidly washed over his entire body.

"Guar—"

The warden reacted, about to shout for help, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was pierced through several vital points by a number of black blades, killing him instantly.

The blades then dissolved into shadows and dispersed, as if they had never been there at all.

Rijeka’s eyes widened as he witnessed the scene, and a name sprang to mind.

"Sha...dow?"

Unable to bear the pain, he collapsed to his knees and forced himself to twist his head around to look back.

His gaze fell on a young face. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it.

But he had seen the Shadow Blades that killed the warden clearly—that was the Shadow’s signature ability!

"You’re the Shadow... I have no grudge against you... Why would you... *cough*..."

"No grudge? Are you sure?"

"Did Yelena... hire you... to kill... me?"

"No one can afford the price to hire me."

Guan Tong pulled the short knife, a gift from Silver Fox, from Rijeka’s chest.

The blade had run him clean through a vital organ. The moment Guan Tong pulled it out, massive blood loss caused Rijeka’s vision to blur.

But in that hazy moment, Rijeka finally remembered where he had seen this face.

He had seen it when he learned that Yelena had gone to study at an academy on North Star. He’d ordered his men to eliminate a teacher there who had ignored his threats and had seen a photo of the man at the time...

"You, you’re... from the academy..."

"Remember now? Good. At least you won’t die with regrets."

Rijeka coughed up a mouthful of blood, too weak to move.

He couldn’t believe it. One moment he was thrilled to have a chance to strike back at Yelena and reclaim his position as Governor, and the next he was abruptly facing his own death.

And the cause of his death was that assassination attempt at the academy, an incident he had almost forgotten... How could he ever have imagined that the world-famous Ascender, the Shadow, was that very same teacher?

"I... You killed me... My father... the Konia Clan... won’t let you get away with this..."

"You started this feud, and as far as I’m concerned, your death ends it," Guan Tong said, his expression blank. "If your clan wants to continue, they’ll just be starting a new one."

"I..."

Rijeka couldn’t say another word. His body slumped to the side, and he breathed his last.

Guan Tong flicked the blood from the dagger and returned it to his Storage Ring.

Even he hadn’t expected Silver Fox’s gift to be useful so soon. Based on its performance in a real fight, it was quite impressive.

Looking at the corpses of Rijeka and the warden, he didn’t linger, departing with Body Shifting.

A few minutes later, a guard coming to make a report discovered the scene. In the immediate aftermath, Sikokun at the Landing Site, Yelena in the Capital, and the entire leadership of Sisiya all learned of Rijeka’s death.